Unexpectedly bright—that was Shirou's first impression of the Dungeon.
Everywhere were narrow passages, branching paths, and various-shaped chambers. The combat environment here was extremely unfriendly to adventurers using long weapons.
"Fighting in this kind of environment is indeed very unfriendly to newcomers. The oppressive feeling of the environment and atmosphere, and the constant crisis of monsters appearing, those with weak mental fortitude would probably quickly lose their combat effectiveness."
But that was for ordinary newcomers.
For Shirou, who had experienced the Holy Grail War and fought against legendary heroes, there was nothing left to fear.
Perhaps his body was still that of a mortal, but his spirit and will had long been forged into a seasoned warrior.
How could a mere Dungeon environment negatively affect him?
"Crack—"
As an unusual sound echoed, cracks suddenly appeared in the walls around Shirou.
Through these cracks, newly born monsters squawked and fell to the ground.
Just born, they cried out and swarmed towards Shirou's upright figure standing in the middle of the passage.
"Is this the so-called living Dungeon?"
Looking at the scene of the Dungeon's mother giving birth to monsters, Shirou's mind couldn't help but recall the descriptions he had read in books.
The Dungeon was alive.
The monsters born on the first few floors of the Dungeon were mainly Goblins and Spirits.
And now, before him were the legendary Goblins.
They had sharp claws and pointed fangs; new adventurers could easily get injured if they weren't careful.
"So these are monsters? Finally, it feels a bit like an adventure world."
With a flick of his twin swords, Shirou charged towards one of the Goblins. He had no intention of waiting for them to surround him.
Currently, Shirou's physical abilities weren't particularly outstanding; in fact, physically, he was far behind the Beast-people.
He could surpass other adventurers by relying on his rich combat experience and mature fighting techniques.
As for magic, how much magical energy would he have left once he used his Reality Marble?
Fighting in the Dungeon was a war of attrition, and this was where he needed to adapt. He wasn't in a situation where Miyu could provide him with magical energy anymore.
Rushing in front of the Goblin, Shirou's swords rose and fell, instantly ending its life.
How fragile, but that was the characteristic of Goblins.
Even newcomers, with enough caution and courage, could easily defeat them.
Therefore, for newcomers, mindset was the most important thing.
After slaying this Goblin, Shirou ignored the monster that turned to ash and turned to charge at the other monsters.
If he could easily defeat them all one-on-one, why bother with complicated methods for fighting multiple opponents?
Goblins weren't fast. The closest ones to Shirou were two Goblins that had already gathered.
Rushing forward and timing it precisely, Shirou directly kicked one Goblin away and then threw a weapon at it.
After slaying the remaining Goblin next to him with one sword, the Goblin that had been kicked away in the distance was also impaled on the ground, turning to ash.
"Projection Start!"
Instead of picking up the thrown weapon, Shirou immediately projected new ones, replenishing his missing armaments.
Looking at the three remaining Goblins, Shirou calmly charged forward.
He quickly dealt with all of them.
"Indeed, the first floor is meant for new adventurers to adapt to the environment. This is not the battleground I need."
Picking up the six magic stones from the ground, he carefully put them into his backpack.
These were all money!
In this world, due to the popularity of magic stone products, magic stones were almost equivalent to money.
Magic stones were also the main income for adventurers; magic stones obtained by hunting monsters could be directly exchanged for Valis at the Guild on the surface.
Therefore, magic stones were money.
"These six magic stones are probably worth about a thousand Valis, enough for one meal."
With his backpack slung on and the battlefield cleared, Shirou once again embarked on his journey deeper into the Dungeon. For him, the first floor was too simple and provided no training effect whatsoever.
Although the Blessing in this world resembled a game's status screen, it wasn't about gaining experience points by hunting monsters.
The increase in the Divine Blessing's attributes was achieved through training.
The Divine Blessing's basic ability values were divided into Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Agility, and Magic.
To increase Strength, one must exert force.
To increase Endurance, one must endure attacks.
To increase Dexterity, one must move their body actively.
To increase Agility, one must run at full speed.
To increase Magic, one must use magic.
Daily training could also increase these attributes, but it was far less effective than the speed gained from real combat with monsters.
There is great terror between life and death.
Only true life-or-death battles could unleash an adventurer's full potential.
The monsters on the first floor were no different from training in the Familia for Shirou, so he needed to delve deeper into the Dungeon.
Dungeon Eighth Floor.
This was the area where Killer Ants resided, and also the area where the largest number of Killer Ants were born.
In the Dungeon, sometimes several floors consecutively spawned this type of monster, but as the floors deepened, the number and frequency of monster spawns continuously increased.
And the Eighth Floor was the area with the highest number and frequency of Killer Ant spawns.
"Clang—!"
His twin swords crossed, blocking a frontal attack. Shirou, who had been constantly observing his surroundings, directly kicked it away and then slashed at another Killer Ant that had already approached him from the side.
A swift strike directly severed its arm. Ignoring its roaring cries, Shirou followed up with a series of attacks. The two short swords in his hands moved like a juggling act, striking from unusual angles and directly beheading it.
But it wasn't over yet. Shirou twisted his body and charged towards two other Killer Ants on the side. Enveloped by numerous Killer Ants, he showed no panic or fear, calmly facing these monsters before him.
Rushing beside the two closely packed Killer Ants, Shirou calmly blocked one's attack with his left sword, then thrust a close-range sword into the other Killer Ant.
Then, without any pause, he leaned back, slamming his back into the Killer Ant behind him. As he crashed into it, the left sword he had used for blocking was already retracted and thrust backward in a reverse grip.
"Boom!"
The Killer Ant, slammed against the wall by Shirou, had no ability to fight back and was pinned to the wall by Shirou's sword.
As the left sword was pulled out again, the Killer Ant behind Shirou had already turned to ash.
The only sound that followed was the magic stone falling to the ground.
Looking around at the few remaining Killer Ants, a slightly breathless Shirou decided to finish the battle quickly.
Stepping lightly, Shirou charged at the Killer Ants again, effortlessly cutting down the isolated monsters.
Only a few clustered together required some effort from him.
Facing the Killer Ants that leaped towards him, Shirou also jumped forward. Spinning his body in mid-air, he directly threw the two weapons in his hands, piercing through the bodies of these two monsters.
Then, projecting new weapons in mid-air, he slashed at the last two remaining Killer Ants.
With a flash of sword light, the two Killer Ants were directly split apart and turned to ash.
Shirou, half-crouching on the ground, slowly stood up and turned to look at his previous battlefield. In the dimly lit passage, magic stones glowed everywhere on the ground.
"Looks like today will be a good haul."
Leaning against the wall, Shirou, breathing lightly, smiled contentedly.
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter